Over Octo Canyon's Obstacles
by Doses Of Fanfiction
Summary: Marie's having a bad day. Agent 4 decides to take a break after a recent boss battle. With her gone in Inkopolis Square, Octo Canyon gets kinda lonely. If only there was someone... maybe from her Squid Sister days... to keep her company. (Spoiler: It's not who you think it will be.) Story is owned by me, Splatoon n' Splatoon 2 is owned by Nintendo, OCs are owned by a cute kangaroo.
1. Chapter 1: Damned to Duty

_**3 weeks, 2 insecure insights with myself, 1 Mountain Dew bottle with a dank tune playing in the background... and 0 Damns given was all it took for me to make this story. I don't own anything;** **credit goes to artist** **Teevz-Art** **(link below) for making up the characters that this Fanfic focuses around on. (Also, thanks for letting me do this in the first place.)**_

 _ **If you want to make me do more work, maybe leave a review** **so that I can know how many spelling errors I make. Don't expect things to be 100% accurate to the game; reason being me not owning Splatoon 2 or watching any gameplay of it. Sorry about that.**_

* * *

 _This story begins as a lone Octoling Soldier with a backpack walks across the desolate landscape that is Octo Canyon. He has a single destination, given to him by his higher-ups to scout out potential obstacles to the undergoing plans of DJ Octavio. Seeing some colored ink that wasn't his own, he sighs and decides to yell out his frustrations while going towards his destination._

 _But this particular Octoling was not the usual soldier in Octavio's army. He was much more than that.  
_

 _In fact, before he was a soldier... he was a star. A rock-star, to be specific._

* * *

A couple of rocks and pebbles roll down a small hill. A figure carrying a small backpack trudges up to the top. He mutters something out-loud for no one to hear.

"...Damn grandpa... always messing up relations with those squid-bags." Tai said as he struggled to climb the small bluff that was in the way of his assigned recon designation. Considering that he was supposed to be stealthy while advancing towards his destination, being an Octoling with a standing-out shade of teal tentacles while yelling his frustrations out in the open of a canyon wasn't what many would call... stealthy.

But no one was around, so he didn't really feel like he was failing horribly at his scouting mission.

...Except for the part that needed him to wear the shades he got from the higher-ups. He hated those.

As much as he didn't want to do this, he had to follow his grandpa if he didn't want to end up angering his only source of shelter and food for the time being.

That didn't mean he was putting on the shades, though.

His equipment rustled in the backpack with every step he took up the bluff, and as he finished the climb, he slid back down the other side and continued on his way. A few minutes later, he reached his destination, and he heaved his backpack down from his aching back with a sigh.

Tai let his mind wander back to the days of his band; to the days when he was living a great life. Although he didn't hate his grandpa, he did hate that he had to transition back to boring old Octarian living. The worse part of it was that he even had to go straight into the army, due to a request from good ol' grandpa Octavio. As much as he loved his species as the next Octarian, he wasn't quite sure that he was fighting for at all. They were ok back in Octo Valley, so why start another fight with the Inklings here?

His question will never be answered, he realizes.

Oh, how he wishes he could go back...

...

Now, if you were to look at Tai Octavio a few years before he "personally" got drafted into the Octarian army, you would have known him as a cocky prick who only played the kazoo as an instrument instead of his guitar in a band of misfits trying to make a name for themselves. It had been only 4 years before when he presented himself, his brother Kou Octavio, and their Octarian friend Barney (insert last name here) as the Octo Bros.; the newest rock band to rock Inkopolis Plaza.

Unfortunately, at the time of their big reveal, they weren't exactly welcomed with open hands.

Probably due to the current events at that time, which were their band's species stealing a very important and necessary power source, the Great Zapfish, from the city's power supply.

There was even an already existing pop-culture duo, the Squid Sisters, and other popular existing bands that Tai immediately forgot the names of. Add the fact that the band popped out of Octo Valley right after the Great Zapfish got rescued by the SquidBeak Splatoon, and you get a lot of Inklings' reactions towards them being less than ideal than what Tai, who was (unfortunately) the leader of their band, would have wanted. But that didn't stop their band from becoming a renowned name in the Inklings' music industry when they started out.

The Octarians' music industry was already flooded by both their grandpa Octavio and Turquoise October anyways.

Shortly after their reveal, Tai and his brother proved themselves a talented and fresh duo, straight from the ground up. The funny thing was that their first known track was originally a joke about Kou having no "Takoyaki" balls to admit that he wasn't sneaking peeks at a certain squid from the squid sisters. Nevertheless, its sound and beat were so entrancing to the kids down at Inkopolis Plaza, that by the time the week ended when they first published it, a lot of Inklings' heads and tentacles were rocking to Tai's vocals and guitar, Kou's bass solos, and Barney's drums.

After gaining positive feedback from those who listened to the song, Kou himself even admitted the track insulting him was catchy.

But only because he pulled-off that sick solo on his bass guitar.

With Tai's guitar, Kou's bass, and Barney's magical drum-playing (He has no arms, so how does he do it?), they got out some fresh-hit singles after that small incident; growing into their "thing" the moment right after and throughout their band's lifetime. They eventually grew to produce some of Inkopolis Plaza's "Top 100 Hit Soundtracks". Squids, Jellies, and sea creatures of every race tuned into the trio's music. From the softest rock by Kou to the loudest thrash by Tai, the band hit all the expectations of cephalopods of all ages that were fortunate enough to listen to the variety of songs that they put all of their heart, soul, and willingness to work onto.

Throughout their band's lifetime (although more often than appreciated), they took tremendous breaks. Sometimes, out of pure laziness, they would only put up a single new song or track every month. And surprisingly, the band's fans were ok with it. With the new rock genre that their band showed light upon, squids were rocking out to tunes that even the Squid Sisters were giving recognition towards. And because they couldn't wait for the new single to come out, the fan-base of the Octo Bros kept busy listening to already existing tracks which made their popularity and music spread even farther.

Their band even rivaled the Squid Sisters in over-all ratings at one point in time; though this was possible only due to the number of Octarian migrations from the grounds of Octo Valley to the surface of Inkopolis.

Besides Turquoise October and their grandpa, there wasn't really any competition when it came to music preferences down when it came to Octarians from Octo Valley. For the Inklings though, it was the complete opposite thanks to the multiple bands residing and performing in the city already. Thankfully, the Octo Bros. had some old fans to help praise their work to others, which ultimately turned out to be their only reason as to how they were as popular as the Squid Sisters.

For a while.

Being successful at something was something Tai and Kou rarely experienced, even in their kid years. Because of it, all the newfound fame got into Tai's head too quick since their reveal a month ago. So Kou, being the older brother of the two, had to control some questionable and possibly dangerous acts their band committed that could have made their reputation drop as low as Octo Valley. The last thing the band wanted was to turn out as one of those groups which didn't care for the government. Covering up all of their shenanigans in Inkopolis was harder than performing in front of a crowd live, and it didn't help that they were being closely watched by the Inklings to make sure no funny business goes down again on the city's power supply lowering suddenly. Stress was common throughout the 3 band members of Octo Bros., but it rarely showed. Barney helped with that, considering that he was the silver lining between the thin line that was Tai's and Kou's relationships they shared with each other. Not to go into details, but Tai hated the fact that Kou wasn't as jealous as he was towards their current biggest rival in the music industry.

Kou, on the hand...

...Well, take a look at Tai and tell him that he wasn't a being of pure disappointment to his face with straight eyes.

Besides, they were having too much fun being famous. Both in their band and in Inkopolis Plaza's own Turf Wars.

While Kou was doing his own thing with his Heavy Splatling over by the corner in any Turf War match he part-took in, Tai was actually having fun and working with the other participants that just so happened to be on the same team as him.

Some players say that Tai was the one that led a secret group that only used weapon variants of Sloshers. They called themselves the Buckets of Tears, for anyone that played against them left the Turf War lobby in... well, tears. How the group like that lasted long enough to win a ranked championship was a mystery to everyone.

Especially since Tai was... Tai, to simply put.

As months of new tracks and singles go by, their band is one of the more popular and fresh ones out there. Sure, their band's fame didn't put down the Squid Sisters or any other bands as Tai would've wanted... but being popular and not-in-bankruptcy satisfied everyone's personal needs and his narcissistic ego for the while that they were relevant in Inkling society. During this time, Tai group, "The Buckets of Tears", was disbanded for whatever reason. Those that were part of it never tell what happened, even to this day...

Shortly after that event, a year passes by from the date that marked the fiasco by their grandpa Octavio. Then, something that no one expected to happen... happened. One day the Octo Bros. find themselves down a rival. After a certain Splatfest, for some strange reason, the Squid Sisters separated. This news was delightful to Tai, as he had always hated them, their fame, and their fortune. Due to the iconic duo, they were always the second choice for everyone in Inkopolis. Not surprising to anyone though was Kou's dismay to the news. (Tai liked the Squid Sisters a lot. Especially Callie. Like, like-liked her.)

In order to celebrate (And to cry about for Kou), they moved from Inkopolis Plaza to Inkopolis Square, where they heard all the new kids were going. The outcome of this decision only led them to more competition and having to have more work done in their band. They also gained a new, but short-lived rivalry. A new duo called Off the Hook quickly took the Octo Bros' spotlight from them, which quickly made the 3 of them realize that you needed an exposing leather jacket and a big forehead in order to be considered "fresh" in today's squid generation.

Tai and Kou both wondered how an Inkling and Octoling joined forces to create trashy and unoriginal electro music. That, and that they were starting to get better ratings than them. Half a year goes by from their move to Inkopolis Square, and the band finds themselves puny compared to the success of the Pearl and Marina, who even had the audacity to reach out to them and assure that they meant no-hard feelings. The worst part was that they were the first Octarians there in the first place! Tai was pretty sure that the only reason Marina joined with Pearl to make Off the Hook was that she took inspiration from their band, but couldn't find anyone else to play with except a desperate small fry called Pearl.

What a pair of mimics they were. If the floods were to rise again, at least they would be remembered as the first successful Octarian music group in the Inklings' eyes. They would go down in music history as the original Octarians to create Inkopolis' adored music. The greatest of all Octarian bands. The best.

...

And yet... after transitioning them from being fresh to Off the Hook being fresh instead, Tai couldn't blame those squids; they chose to move to Off the Hook and other music artists instead of staying with the Octo Bros for the upcoming new genre of music. He guessed that it was how the music business worked. THeir band technically committed the same act to the Squid Sisters, but that was a different occasion.

At that moment, he and his brother realize that no matter how hard you try, you're going to become old news at some point.

And Tai was, for the most part, ok with that.

To be fair, their band did knock out some competition when they had their rise to fame. It's just how music grows, he guessed. Surprisingly, he was pretty somber about this event. He didn't like how he was getting pushed away from the spotlight, but he grew to accept the fact that even the biggest stars fall someday.

It was their band's turn to fall. And Tai, realizing the situation, was accepting of that.

That didn't mean his band couldn't be a bit salty about it happening though. They had some time and talent left in the three of them, and they were going to put out as much as they can.

...Right after a quick break.

They needed to get out as much tension as they could before they got back to making what would grow to become their last songs from their band.

After the month that Off the Hook formed, those two get a contract that made them Inkopolis Square's new news hosts. Both Tai and Kou hated the duo at that point, but for very different reasons that don't have to be explained. Off the Hook accepted the deal and started blasting out their hottest tracks in Inkopolis Square. The Octo Bros. was starting to fall under "old-news" due to the new sensation in Inkling pop-culture.

The future started to look bleak for Tai, Kou, and Barney.

Guess who decided to help with that by escaping from the SquidBeak Splatoon's hold to do the same thing from about 2 years ago?

That's right!

None other than Grandpa Octavio. DJ Octavio, as he's known to others.

Escaping his prison that was a literal giant snow-globe back in Octo Valley, Octavio decided to steal all the Zapfish again. His reason? That he was still salty about a 14-year old squid beating him back when the Octo Bros. just formed.

The same squid who got praised as a national hero to all species because of it.

Revenge was the new goal here. Screw keeping his people safe and happy! He wanted to gain spoils of war!

Or, at very least, the spoils of beating the Squids in a rematch.

A rematch that Octavio thought they clearly weren't going to be able to win.

And why weren't they going to win this time?

Because he had a new plan. (And also because of Capt. Cuttlefish taking a break along with Agent 3 from the Squidbeak Splatoon.)

Sending out requests that Octarian people brought back down to the valley, Octavio watched as the people he led back at the valley in a fight for their homes and own welfare started going back down to the place where they lost everything. They were ranging from his loyalists to those who couldn't fit in or adjust to the new and stressful society that had Inklings as the dominant species out of all the others. Some even went back down there out of sheer force from both the Inkling and Octarian governments.

It wasn't long before Octarian populations all around Inkopolis in general reached numbers as low as 3 digits. Those that stayed were either able to... or not. Those that weren't had the choice of going back down to the valley immediately, or risk getting punished by both species. There were cases of civilians being imprisoned and sent back anyways, Inklings and Octarians being splatted, and worse; all because they didn't want to go back to their old, dangerous, and severely un-fresh lives they had down in that Valley.

Fortunately, the 3 members of the Octo Bros grudgingly did some legal documents and paperwork that made them citizens in both the Inkling and Octoling societies. That way, they weren't forced to go back to their past home in the Valley... along with other Octarians that had the time, resources, and will to do the same thing.

Sometimes, even with the paperwork and approved documents, they were still forced down back to the valley for reasons unknown. They were really the only ones safe because they had so much fame and popularity from the Inklings that still listened to their music. The government in Inkopolis didn't want to disrupt or erase things that those Inklings' considered fresh, both out of fear and respect for the squids.

That being said, big-name companies, groups, and brands could still leave Inkopolis out of pure choice if they wanted to. Those that did usually had a shout-out and special event about it before they left. Or they just left a note on the front door.

Worked either way for the Inklings in charge of the government. Especially if at one point in time, a certain group decided to leave that may have caused trouble for them before...

At some point, Octavio, not seeing his grandsons from the masses of Octarians coming back to the valley, decided to recall them from the surface himself.

And that was why the Octo Bros. disbanded; all three of them had to go back. Mainly Tai and Kou, because 1: They were still Octarian Citizens by law, 2: Because their grandpa requested them to, and he was an Octarian government official, and 3: The competition in the music industry was getting stiff.

Why stay in a place where you couldn't benefit from anymore?

It wasn't hard to see that new bands were rising up along with Off the Hook. Tai realized that to keep their band's name up, they'd have to actually do stuff, but more often. Clearly, new releases every week was better than a single new track every month. No matter how good-sounding he and Kou made their last songs, the crowd's demand only grew greedier and greedier; leading to the gradual decrease in their band's popularity. New, pressuring anonymous messages from fans and haters alike drove the three Octarians to the edge with stress as if they weren't on the edge already.

It was then decided that they would pump out one last song before they hit rock-bottom, to signal their official leave from the music business and leave their last mark in Inkling society.

The performance that was scheduled just before their trip back to the Valley was amazing. Rocking out old songs, dishing out never-before-heard tracks, music from other bands remixed into their taste... all of them that they could play was played before that one final song that they created just for that very occasion. The party lasted all night, Octarian style. Off the Hook was there, and Tai could have sworn he saw the eyes of reminiscence form in Marina's eyes. He couldn't blame her; he, Kou, Barney, and others from their species had the same eyes all the while the party continued. The event truly showed all who attended the shining aspects of their culture and how much they enjoyed it. The Inklings enjoyed it themselves, talking about the even non-stop for at least a week.

Sadly, after a short while, high-ranking officials came to escort them back down.

Taking long, last looks of their once-lived legacy on the surface, the three of them took the long and unpleasant trip heading back down into the slums of Octo Valley. Along the way, they met familiar faces they couldn't recognize anymore. It seemed like the life got sucked right out of them, and they were experiencing the darkest days of the Octarian race once again.

Once they reached there, the officials made them meet up with their grandpa and his new accomplices. He then announced to them and everyone who was there in the valley that they would be moving to another home. A home that would be better than the crumbling buildings and platforms that was Octo Valley. They were moving to... a Canyon.

But not just any Canyon. Oh, no.

Octo Canyon.

The same canyon that was residing next to the city, Inkopolis Square.

And so Octavio began mobilizing every single Octarian from Octo Valley into Octo Canyon. That, unfortunately, included Tai, Kou, and Barney.

And at that moment marked the official separation of the Octo Bros.

Tai and Kou were sent to different aspects of the re-building Octarian army, while Barney was left to struggle in the Octarian workforce that was struggling to meet demands from the higher-ups in the Octarian government.

Tai was never part of the army, nor did he want to. Doing things, in general, wasn't generally... his thing. Especially if it was outside doing splatting suckers with his bucket, doing solos on his guitar, or showing off his buff body to the women. (Spoiler Alert: He's not buff.) But his grandpa made sure that he joined as well as everybody else that was still in Octo Valley, for the sole reason of Tai putting his non-existent combat skills to the test for "the greater good of their species." After having the quick move to the canyon, they struck Inkopolis Square at dark; stealing any power source the Inklings had. Oh, and we can't forget about their main target; the Great Zapfish. The army hunkered down to guard the Zapfish that they had stolen. The Great Zapfish went to Octavio's slimy tentacles again. With the power secure, Octavio was able to fuel his plan for revenge. New equipment and weapons slowly began to slowly be created. With the new developments in his army, Octavio was sure he couldn't lose this time.

But being on the safe side...

He forcefully split the two Octoling brothers apart by putting one of them in the most daunting task of all in the army.

Octavio was sure that his grandson's array of skills would help him in his effort to secure a critical objective in that his plans required to keep at all times.

Unfortunately for Tai, Kou got that job. Instead, his lackluster skills were instead put to the test of scouting. A test that Tai couldn't hope to pass.

During the meeting where the two brothers were informed of this, many arguments were had, many tables got banged on, and a bucket got twirled in a defensive manner. In the end, Tai got a backpack, a set of rules to follow, and a boot to the ass as he got kicked out of Cephalon HQ to start his first mission. He got back looking like he fell 3 stories.

During the mission, he somehow did. And survived.

At first, Octavio and his higher-ups were generally disappointed in Tai for his lack of effort. But they started to depend on him when their greatest fears start to be confirmed.

A new Agent was on their way to stop them. Agent 4.

And it looked like the squid was on a higher level of skill than the last one.

With the rest of the scouting parties too scared to go out into the canyon out of fear of this dangerous agent roaming around, Tai was usually the only one to be sent out on scoutings and status reports of the general area of the canyon. Tai didn't really mind; it was better than standing around all day in a smelly underground bunker the called Cephalon HQ.

He accepted the missions out of pure boredom, for what else was there to do? With the band split and everyone in Octo Canyon listening to the new tracks of Turquoise October, making music seemed like a waste of Tai.

He liked doing it with his bandmates better, anyways.

The commanders of the Octarian army gave him missions that were usually to just go to a place and report what he saw.

Every time he went out, he came back in a single piece that looked like it went through an Inkstrike. But hey, he wasn't splatted at least.

...

Fast forward a few fruitless missions, a few close calls, and a time period of over half a year, and we arrive back to Tai... who is now currently yelling his frustrations out into the wilderness.

"Really grandpa? Did you really have to make me a boy-scout? I could be doing something better you know!" Tai called out to no-one in particular. He already lost his way just minutes ago, and was in… wherever he was now. The only reason he got to his rendezvous in the first place was that he flipped his map, which was upside down, to begin with when he first left. Now arriving at his issued scouting site, he noticed that whatever this place was. It wasn't to his liking. After making sure his stuff was good, which consisted of a map, a standard-issue OctoShot with an Ink tank, a pair of binoculars, a communications radio, and some food rations, he checked his surroundings and gave another disapproving glance.

Tai wasn't fond of nature that much, given the many hours he spent with his brother lazing around, making songs in their studio back in Inkopolis Square, or trashing their grandpa's royal abode. The last reason was also the main driving point behind their group; they had to pay back what Octavio paid keeping his grandsons around. At least they were to pay it off in their time in the band. Tai tried not to imagine what could have happened if they failed at completing all their debts to their grandpa before they got shipped back to work for him...

A slight shudder goes up Tai's back.

After seeing nothing of interest for about 10 minutes, Tai decided to move somewhere else. Nothing was going to happen in this place. Re-packing his things, he checked his ink-tank and gave himself the good-to-go. Walking towards the direction he picked for himself, he decided to check his map again after 10 minutes from leaving his scouting post. "...Where is this place? Let's see..." Tai reached for the map of Octo Canyon and quickly looked as to where he was now. For a second he thought he was way back at Only then would he realize that moving forward was a mistake.

"Tentakeel Outpost?" Tai shouted. He never knew he was far behind enemy turf. For all he knew, the new Agent 4 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon had been quick to adapt to their new weaponry and reached the 3rd Great Octo Weapon in a matter of 2 weeks. "Man, that squid really wasn't taking their time," Tai said to himself. "Better head back to friendly turf. Who knows what might happen if I continue going up the path..." Tai nervously said to himself. He wasn't one to get nervous, but in a situation like this, he had all the right. Putting back the map, he turned around and started his run back to Cephalon HQ.

Then he took a left.

After literally 2 minutes, he took a left again.

He was never the best at having a sense of direction.

Thinking the direction he was blindly running at was the way to HQ, he started to feel sweaty and tired when suddenly, he spotted something out of the usual Octarian-ordinary.

"Wait, why am I running towards a shack?" Tai pondered to himself before skidding to a halt to think. He could recall no buildings as furnished and maintained as good as the shack in any of the sectors he's been in. There were just usually debris and metal platforms, just like in the Valley. Hell, the shack, which was in a middle of a freaking canyon, was better kept than Tai's old apartment which he shared with his bandmates. Tai shook those questions from his head and asked himself a more important question.

Why was it doing out here? Surely it wasn't out here for a vacation home. It looked like one, but who would want to visit here? Especially with the word going out that Octarians are back to their old roots. Ever since they took the Great Zapfish again, Inklings have been questioning relations with their cephalic neighbors. The Octarian image has been lowering to the point where any Octarian living in Inkopolis Square was harassed by the Inkling masses if they weren't anyone famous or popular.

But then again, when were relations between the two species ever good?

Besides, you'd have to completely sell yourself over to them and become a slave to their society if you wanted to live there nowadays. And even then, what would they want from those Octarians?

...

*cough* *cough* _Marina_ *cough*

...

Well, no point in standing around. Scouting did need him to gather intelligence of importance. And maybe, if he were to come across something that could benefit his grandpa.

...OK, there's probably nothing of importance to the Octarian race in the shack, but Tai was pretty tired from his 7 minutes run into out of enemy territory. Well, if worse comes to worse, scare the living squid bags out of any possible Inklings that could now be in the area, take some food, and have a rest. Then when he's had his full, search the shack, find something to bring back, and get a half-scolding from grandpa Octavio for being 5 minutes late.

Hmm. Sounded less like a worse and more of a best to him. Besides, going around places getting information is what scouts tend to do, right?

Or were those spies?

...What difference does it make? He'll bring back something of interest to show that he isn't completely useless.

Wait, he's forgetting something... Oh yeah. Don't get caught. Was that a scout thing? Or just a general order? Tai decided it was common sense. After all, what Octarian would get caught dead in broad daylight running around a Canyon? The idea was simply absurd.

...

...

...

*Growl*

"Ugh... Shut up you." Tai said to his rumbling stomach. "We'll get some food, but not before I make sure I don't die while hopefully eating a sandwich." He says to himself while finding a spot to settle down his stuff. He hides it, knowing there's the minuscule chance that he gets captured or splatted by the enemy. He did bring his OctoShot and Ink tank, for when he needs a quick getaway.

Or a weapon.

Tai starts filling up his tank with his Teal ink and makes sure the coast is clear for him to reach the shack undetected. "This gonna be a piece of Takoyaki." He whispers to himself while silently approaching the other side of the shack.

Oh, how Tai would come to regret those words.

Approaching the shack from what it seemed to its right side, he starts to relax his posture when he finally appears from around the back of the shack. Heading towards the front and taking a couple of steps forward, his heart almost stops.

He sees an Inkling dressed in an elegant, lime-green colored traditional kimono who looked like he was waiting for him.

The same thing happens to the Inkling as well.

Looks like today was going to turn out a very interesting day for the both of them.

* * *

 _ **And there we go. A single chapter. Not bad for a first chapter. Again, tell me if you want more (maybe put in some ideas or references) and tell me what's horrible about this attempt at reviving a dead concept. (**_ _ **Link to Inspiration on Twitter: /teevzart?lang=en) Check out their artwork! (And encourage them to pick up the heap of garbage that is the Octo Bros.)**_

 _ **Until my willingness to work perks up again, stay tuned in for the next chapter... or not, I guess. Whatever floats your boat.**_


	2. Chapter 2: Contact in the Canyon

_**After fixing up the first chapter multiple times, I've finally gotten to making the next one. If people were confused about the changes happening, sorry about that. Anyways, I'll probably do the same thing for this chapter, but I promise you guys it will start to happen less than often. Again, many thanks to Teevz-Art for giving me permission to write this trash about their children. If you're interested in them and want to see who they really are, then I suggest looking through the Tumblr blog. (It's called Octo Bros. 10/10 gr8 name.) It's a somewhat old blog, but it won't take you very long to find something about the Octo Bros.**_ _ **If you're looking for just the background information about them, look into Deviantart and find certain pieces of artwork of their creator that actually explains their characters in the descriptions. (I suggest looking for the reference. You can guess what it's called.)**_

 ** _If some of you do decide to go Octopus-hunting for the two Octo-butts and see the actual headcanon of them, just remember this: I'm not that great at descriptive writing. I'm still struggling with myself as to how to describe all three of them in the story that keeps the headcanon about them in-tact. For example, I've already kind of stated that Tai's a total douche, but I feel like I've never really shown his actual douchey personality. ..._** _ **Then again, I can probably show more of the band's characteristics in other chapters, but the main point is that I'm just really worried about the first impacts my writing has on people who read it. Specifically, what they generally think of Tai and his brother, Kou. It's important to me that I get all aspects of the brothers' character and design spot-on. Or at least something close to it.**_

 _ **Anyways, with that being said, here's a chapter for those that thought this wasn't going to be continued. You're welcome. Or not... it depends, really.**_

* * *

 _A long time before the present..._

 _Today was a fine day..._

 _...to go and play Turf Wars. The two squid idols had just finished up announcing the latest news and today's Turf War stages, and Callie really wanted her to tag along to play some matches together._

 _Marie wasn't the one to let down her cousin._

 _They got dressed in their hero gear in order to not make everyone playing with them freak out at the sight of the two of them playing Turf Wars. It was for both their's and other players safety. Plus, they looked cool in their agent uniforms._

 _All that training they got from their Grampa during their time as Agents 1 and 2 helped them win at Turf Wars, especially when they got paired together in the same team. With Callie's roller and her Charger, they were truly a fearsome force to be reckoned with._

 _Oh, and you couldn't forget the fact that they beat Octavio a few days ago. Along with agent 3, of course._

 _Yes, the Squid Sisters. A duo that would last through thick and thin, through time and trials, through whatever the world had to throw at them._

 _And it seemed like the world decided to throw a casual round of Turf War at them that day._

 _As always, Marie thought they were going to go through the motions. Win, win, and win again against any team that dared go against the two of them._

 _And go through the motions they did. Winning match after match, they went on a streak that was one of the top ones that week._

 _And then came their final round of Turf War that day._

 _Urchin Underpass. She and Callie were paired up together, so there was no way they could lose this last battle._

 _...So it came as a shock to everyone when the both of them lost said battle._

 _But not as much as the fact that they were beaten by 2 newcomers._

 _It was especially shocking to Callie and Marie since it was their first encounter with them at all._

 _They clearly underestimated the two fresh faces._

 _Didn't help that the two were Octolings._

 _The battle ended with more than half of the underpass covered with purple ink, her and Callie getting splatted more than a dozen of times, and an end to their winning streak that day._

 _Not to mention the dread that came after the loss._ _Callie and Marie realized that they weren't as invincible at the art of Turf Wars as they thought they were._

 _They still had the chance to get splatted by the enemy..._

 _Who knows how many times that chance has ever appeared before._

 _..._ _But it wasn't all bad though._

 _After the match, good games were exchanged and hands were shaking and some squids shook off the salt that dusted them after losing._

 _Shortly after that, one of the octopuses marched off into the sunset; the other got one of their tentacle signed by Callie before running off as well._

 _Callie and Marie went their separate ways a while later, but not before promising each other that they would not only win each match but improve themselves as well; in case any other Squids (Or Octopuses) decided to try their tentacles at beating them again._

 _..._

 _But..._ _Something still troubled Marie._

 _How did she let this happen? How did she let them both suffer defeat?_

 _How wasn't she good enough?_

 _They were never the easiest to go against, with their agent training and all. She and Callie always had each other's backs, no matter what situation they were in. They've been in deeper situations before; a Turf War was the least of their worries. Heck, they've splatted entire legions of Octarians, and Octolings weren't that hard to take down as well._

 _So what happened?_

 _The octopus with the Splatling was easy prey, for sure. Callie handled him most of that match._

 _But, for some reason..._

 _...the one with the Bucket always escaped her cross-hairs._

* * *

Today was a boring day.

Agent 4 had just defeated the third Great Octoweapon, which just so happened to be a familiar face. Not a friendly one to be honest, but a familiar face nonetheless. After the battle (Which was way harder than what Marie was expecting from the old Rubix cube), she congratulated the girl by giving her a week off from doing missions. She needed the rest anyways, with almost being flattened like a pancake and what-not somewhat recently.

That said, training Agent 4 and sending her out on missions was the only thing she could do down in the Canyon. Waiting for Gramps to come back from... wherever he went wasn't as fun as it sounds like. Then again, when has waiting for someone sounded fun?

Man, what to do...

...

Well... she could go over to the side of the shack and take a seat on one of the cushions.

Yeah, that sounded nice.

Marie turned around from facing the rock arch that gave way to the kettles. She was watching for any possible activity coming from them but considering that Agent 4 had already kicked the shrimp out of all the Octarian forces, there wasn't much going on from them.

The same could go for inside them. Because Agent 4 splatted them all and Octarian technology was yet to master the art of re-spawning personnel quickly, it would take a while for them to figure out that they swapped out the real Zapfish for a plushy with a car battery in it.

Marie always wondered why Gramps made those plushies in the first place. It wasn't like it was a waste of time, and frankly, she and Callie used to have an enjoyable time making those cute things whenever they had the chance. Sure, putting the questionably-obtained car batteries inside the plushies wasn't as fun as making the thing itself, but she guessed it was to serve the purpose of mimicking a real Zapfish. Agent 3 (who's unfortunately decided to watch Gramps and make sure he didn't do anything dangerous) used to carry one with him before entering a kettle during their days back at Octo Valley. And all the times he cleared a kettle, he would always switch out the plushy for the real thing.

The thing was that it wasn't necessary for him to do it. He just did.

Maybe Agent 3 had a thing for the enemy he was facing. Compassion, perhaps? Or maybe pity? He never admitted it, but it was crystal clear to everyone else that he held something in his heart to show some sort of kindness to the enemy. Sure, they were suffering a bit in terms of power supply and general accommodation for their whole species, but that didn't mean they had to steal our power.

Those dammed Octarians. Even now, they were salty as they were way back when to the time they lost the Great Turf War.

Marie let out a quiet sigh.

She guessed Agent 3 tried to help them with that.

A slap he had gotten from a certain kettle confirmed that he was... interacting, with the enemy for the most part.

It didn't help that it was one of the Octoling kettles; the first one, no doubt.

Maybe Agent 3 thought that the Octolings could influence the rest of the Octarians that there wasn't any use for fighting...

...Or maybe he thought they looked cute.

Marie realizes that could explain why there was one time that he came back from the same kettle with a sucker on his forehead and a red, blushing face that was the same color as an Octoling's hair.

Agent 4 had a weird taste in him...

And it wasn't that they didn't know, because the Octarians could clearly tell the difference between a real Zapfish from the fake one.

They looked dumb, but they weren't stupid. It didn't help that Gramps would always give the plushies a hat that resembled his.

But at the same time, they had a source of energy. So they paid no mind to the fake Zapfishes and went on with... whatever they did do in their kettles.

...Man, all this reminiscing of plushies is making Marie have the urge to hug one.

Maybe she'll make Agent 4 steal one from a kettle she's cleared...

Or, maybe she can get one from the shack back at Octo Valley instead of risking her only agent's safety. She's not that drastic or desperate.

Besides, Agent 4's out battling in Inkopolis Square; winning the new Turf Wars Marie's heard about, chatting with friends...

...sleeping from 9 to 5 on a lazy day...

Man, out of all the Inklings Marie's met before, Agent 4 had to be the laziest. What amazed Marie was how she found the energy to get her lazy tentacles out from her apartment and into the Canyon.

Hell, the fact that she agreed to the job of getting back the Great Zapfish amazed Marie after what she had seen of Agent 4's work ethic.

On paper, she sounded like the least-willing person to take up the job.

And yet, she beamed at the chance to help Marie with her octopus-related dilemma. Excited even. Something about "training her skills" to be better at those Turf Wars or something.

The irony of that was Agent 3's reason was the same exact thing.

Marie let out a quiet chuckle.

She knew her first choices were the best ones.

Speaking of choices, Marie let her mind wander once again to think about what Agent 4 could possibly be doing right now.

She almost didn't hear the quiet footsteps that were approaching from the right side of the shack.

...Wait.

Footsteps?

Marie's eyes widened in slight panic as she realized she wasn't alone in the area.

Said panic turned to bravery as she resolved to find out the source of the footsteps. Whoever was around the right side of the shack had a stern talking coming their way.

That is if they were an Inkling.

If they were an Octarian, on the other hand...

Well, let's not go into details.

The footsteps get closer and closer to the corner to the shack, and Marie resolves to let the intruder show themselves before she does anything drastic...

...Did they stop?

Marie was half-tempted to call out whoever was there, but she knew better. Giving away your position could either result in a panicking Inkling who got here by mistake, or an aggressive Octarian looking for something, or specifically, someone to splat.

Any moment now and she could be jumped and caught off guard. She had to keep quiet and focused on the main threat to her right now.

...

*growl*

What did Marie just hear?

A voice barely above a regular mutter said something that Marie didn't quite catch. Something about.. a sand witch?

What in the world is a sand witch? A witch made of sand? Sand from a witch? It doesn't add up to Marie and probably never will.

Wait.

The footsteps are getting closer.

...

...

...

Two pairs of eyes meet.

One pair held inside them a surprised yet firm expression to the other with golden eyes that had 2 cross-like shapes centered in both pupils.

The other held a startled glaze back at with a deep shade of magenta with an X on each that connected the sides of pupils.

One pair stared. The other stared back.

Both of their owners started to reach for something they could defend themselves with.

Fortunately for Marie, she always had a knack for a quick reaction time. Quick reflexes and even quicker thinking led Marie to grab her Umbrella and open it up just in time to block out the barrage of Teal ink that was flying her way.

Marie reasoned herself to make this splatting quick.

The Octoling shouted out a curse, and without thinking, shifted into his Octopus form. Marie could clearly see the ripples that it was making while swimming towards her. A classic rookie mistake.

Was this Octoling new to the army?

Expecting the old "Jump and Splash" maneuver was far-right impossible if one was to equip certain gear or moderate their approach in order to execute it when the enemy least expected it. Thankfully, she's got an umbrella that was huge enough to cover her entire front-side of her frame.

It was also ink-proof. A handy addition to the thing, considering she was always being pestered by Agent 4 with the weapons given to her by Sheldon.

The umbrella was actually a gift from an old Jellyfish friend of hers right before they left... who knew a clothing vendor had the perfect accessories to go with his outfits? But because the old jellyfish wanted to seek new business opportunities other than the clothing industry, she kept it a secret in case any fashionistas happened to spot her look and question how she got her accessories to match up really well with her traditional kimono.

The Octoling finally jumped when it got as close as it could possibly get to her.

Too bad it was also in the range of her Umbrella's reach.

After the salvo of Ink that was unsuccessful to hit anything besides the ground and her Umbrella, she pushed forward with a force that rivaled even an OctoStamp.

She always forgot that her umbrella was sturdier than it looked, considering it was made from wood and followed an old traditional design.

Ever-surprising Marie, the old prop Umbrella withstood the impact of hitting an Octoling square in the chest. It looked winded, as it staggered back a few steps and yelled out another curse.

Except that this time, Marie herd it perfectly.

"Goddammed Squid-bags!"

Marie never heard anyone use the phrase before.

No one... except a certain **Octoling**.

...What was _he_ doing here?

...

Tai had just been whacked with an umbrella. An umbrella, out of all things. As if encountering _her_ again didn't already made things worse. Was it too good to be true when he thought that the shack was abandoned?

Apparently so, since he's now facing one of his most hated rivals in a surprise battle. And he meant hated.

Full-out hated.

Thankfully, it was just the two of them. Tai looked at the situation he was in with an immense feeling. This was his first-time experience contact with the supposed "enemy" of his grandpa, and yet he's felt like he's done this before.

Deja-vu was a better word to describe his current feelings and thoughts.

Just the two of them. Nothing else, no-one else.

No distractions, no-holds-barred.

The perfect match.

...

Marie could not believe her own eyes. She had to battle _him_ again, and she didn't even have anything to defend herself with!

Well, her umbrella was something, but she believed in a thing called a defense.

And to have a great defense, you needed to have a good offense.

Marie was pretty sure that whacking someone with an umbrella wasn't what people would call a good offensive move in a fight.

After all, since when do you see someone splat someone with umbrellas? It's not like those things couldn't hurt; Agent 4's can justify. But just when does an umbrella make for a good weapon in a fight? In any fight?

Maybe she could play her regular umbrella off as one of those special Splatbrellas. Yeah, that'll keep him on his toes.

Hopefully.

...

Did Marie move on from chargers?

Finally. He was hoping he could face Marie that didn't include a charger of some sorts.

Although, he didn't think that she would be somewhat picky. Splatbrellas were kind of similar to chargers in his opinion. So technically he wasn't facing anything new.

Well, besides the chance that Marie decides to send out the umbrella's shield flying towards him. Thankfully, he shifted into octopus form and hid in his ink in case Marie had any plans of splatting Octopus today.

And when she does...

Well, guess Tai wins yet another duel between them.

...

Marie's plan to mimic her umbrella as a Splatbrella had worked. Or at least, she thinks it did.

Truth be told, she's been waiting for Tai to pop out from hiding to splat him with a splat bomb she found in the shack. She probably hid it inside there in case situations like these ever happen.

Problem was, this splat bomb was filled with low-tide ink instead of regular ink. That means that it'll only _stun_ him instead of splat him.

It wasn't like she _didn't_ want to splat the octopus prick, but she didn't have anything else at the moment.

Ah, to heck with it. She'll knock him out with the low-tide ink and hopefully subdue him somehow.

...

Tai had this battle in the bag. And not just because he hid in his own ink from when he got hit with Marie's umbrella up until now, oh no.

He's finally spotted a weak point in Marie's guard. It appeared while he was in still hiding in his ink; her splatbrella was lowered just enough to expose her eyes.

With a full ink tank and score to settle, Tai started swimming as fast as he could through his ink, ready to splat Marie once and for all.

His whole entire life was leading up to this point. All he needed to do now was finish what she started.

...

Just as expected. The bait worked for him. It finally did, after all these years.

Guess he's so desperate to get this over with.

Just gotta wait for the right time...

...

Just gotta wait for the right time, and... * _ **SPLASH***_

He was out of the ink! Soaring gracefully through the air like any airborne Octopus would! And now, he was sailing straight into...

...

"Finally. Bull's eye." Marie whispered to herself as she knowingly hit her target right on the spot. The bright explosion of lime green ink confirmed her thoughts.

...

There was a loud, audible _***BANG***_ that echoed throughout the Canyon. The soundwave shook a few feathers of some unfortunate birds that happened to be close by. Not knowing what happened, the curious animals flapped their wings and flew into the air to get a bird's eye view of whatever as going down in the valley today.

(Pun fully intended.)

As the birds descended from their little flight, they notice a green puddle surrounded by what looked to be a... darker green. Or was it another color?

What really caught their little birdie attentions was the figure surrounded by the green puddle. It looked hurt.

Was it dead?

The figure is approached by another figure that looked to be the source of the green puddle that surrounded the first one. It reached down to the green ink to touch it. Then it turned to inspect the figure in the puddle of the green substance.

The birds were quite confused as to what transpired there that led to... whatever that was. Birds never held an interest in current events around their surroundings that much anyways. But damm was it interesting.

As they watched the little scene unfold, the number of birds that looked on with wonder grew and grew into the point that there wasn't any more space for other birds to perch upon the little rock arch that overshadowed said scene.

...

Marie looked at Tai with an expression that didn't say anything about the moment she was in.

She had finally gotten him. After all this time, she got the one that escaped her. She always expected to take him down with one of her chargers...

Who knew it was this easy? Marie figured that if he could go down to a sub-weapon as simple as a splat bomb, she wondered if he was really that good back then.

It didn't make sense to Marie. The bomb went off right in front of him. The ink did what it should do, but the effect would usually only affect one's senses.

Why was Tai completely knocked out? Low-tide ink didn't usually do that to Inklings. Maybe it worked differently for other species?

Marie recalled that she only whacked him with her umbrella once. She didn't really toss the bomb towards him that hard either.

And yet he looked like he just went through multiple Inkstrikes.

Marie pondered how Tai was unconscious on the ground from what was the equivalent to a burst balloon when she remembered something. Agent 4 had recently told her that a new shipment of _high-pressure_ ink bombs that Sheldon dropped off for the agent to use in some missions. She mentioned something about placing one of them on the table that was inside the little shack, just in case Marie needed something to defend herself with.

That was when she realized that what she threw at Tai wasn't hit with low-tide ink she thought hit him.

Ouch.

Marie quickly flipped Tai's body over to see that there were some deep cuts near his forehead and upper body area. His light-weight body armor helped to protect him from being fully splatted, but now it seems that it was hindering him; dents on the metal plates looked to be pushing into his body, causing more pain as to what he was experiencing. His legs and arms didn't seem that bad, but that didn't mean they didn't take any ink from the splat bomb either. Overlooking the damage done to Tai, Marie guessed the splat bomb worked.

The high-pressure ink did its job, all right.

It just didn't finish it.

Marie was beginning to feel hesitant to.

Splatting an Octarian didn't take a lot. A couple of well-placed ink shots could take out almost any Octarian species. A single bomb was usually enough to take out a group of them.

So why did Tai, out of all the octopi in the world, survive a point-blank splat bomb right in the face?

Figures. He always was a bit big-headed. And not in the smart-way either.

It didn't help that he wasn't wearing any goggles or shades.

...

Wait.

He wasn't wearing any shades.

No shades equaled no brain-washed Octoling.

No brain-washed Octoling meant that he was free from the control of Octavio.

Marie almost splatted him.

The Squidbeak Splatoon almost caused another loss of an innocent.

Oh no.

...

" _ohnoohnoohnoohnoohno-_ " Marie screamed inside of her mind as it raced to think of any way to help alleviate the current situation from what it has become as of right now. How did she not notice he wasn't wearing any Hypno-shades? She stared straight at him, for squids' sake!

Marie suddenly recalled a little detail about the Squidbeak Splatoon that made her much more guilty of almost splatting Tai. The Squidbeak Splatoon didn't want to harm anyone that wasn't part of the fight, and that meant Octarians who were willing to cooperate and not fight anymore. Back during the Great Turf War, both opposing parties decided to not harm civilian targets, lest they turn violent against their military forces. That included Inklings in Octarian territories... and Octarians in Inkling territories.

The deal was proposed by none other than the Squidbeak Splatoon themselves. Who they made the deal to remains classified back in the sunken scrolls back in Gramps' shack in the Valley.

The same Valley where she almost splatted another innocent because of bad introductions. She could thank Agent 3 for that, but that in its entirety is another story...

"uuuuggghhhhh" The mass of tentacles that was Tai was all he could groan out after the splat bomb completely KO-d' him. He looked like he was experiencing the definition of being splatted without... well, being splatted.

...

...

...

Marie knew that she could easily help change that fact.

...

...

...

She didn't want to.

As much as he had a dislike for the Octoling, she couldn't bring herself to finish him off.

It didn't seem... proper.

And it wasn't because of the Squidbeak Splatoon's goal of no civilians being harmed at all during war time...

...but the idea of it didn't feel right in general.

Besides, she could use the outcome of this event as an opportunity towards her and Agent 4's mission of bringing back the Zapfish.

Tai wasn't known as Tai _'Talia'_ Octavio for nothing. (Marie smirked a bit at remembering Tai's secret middle name.) She could use him to locate missing Zapfish, what the remaining 2 Great Octoweapons were, etc. Plus, if Octavio tried any funny business against her and Agent 4, she could always hold another splat bomb in-front of Tai's face.

Marie's emotions changed as she slowly took into account what she could gain from this impromptu Turf War battle. In addition to not being alone all the time, Marie would finally gain an edge over the Octarian forces remaining in the Canyon. All she needed to do was make sure that a certain Octoling doesn't escape from her grasp. She wouldn't be that lonely anymore while Agent 4 was away for the time being, and if she says her words right, she might get some valuable information about how to exploit the enemy and get all the Zapfish in record time.

That, of course, wouldn't be a problem.

After she puts him in the snowglobe, he wouldn't be escaping her sight anytime soon.

 _Not anymore._

* * *

 _Another long time before the present..._

 _"Hey."_

 _There he was._

 _The Slosher._

 _The one that took her down 8 times during their last Turf War._

 _The one that proved to her that she wasn't perfect._

 _..._ _What does he want?_

 _"Hey."_

 _"Marie, right?"_

 ** _*UGHK*_**

 _Marie almost spat out her water, dropping her water bottle in the realization of what he asked._

 _The Octoling smirked, probably knowing who she was under the disguise._

 _Which meant..._

 _"What's it to you?"_

 _He gave a shit-eating grin before replying._

 _"Oh, nothing..."_

 _What?_

 _She couldn't believe him. First, he makes her and Callie lose a Turf War, which anyone could rarely accomplish. (Aside from Agent 3, but that's another story.) Then, he makes her lose her posture by almost blowing her cover. And now, he's acting like he doesn't care?_

 _..._

 _Man, what a prick._

 _"You're a real prick, aren't you?"_

 _"So I've been told."_

 _A real hothead too._

 _"You know, I've always wanted to beat you two in something. Now, I finally did. Who's the better duo now, huh?"_

 _"Aren't you guys a trio?"_

 _The Octoling looked confused for a moment before realizing that he forgot about the Octarian who was his and his brother's only drummer/friend._

 _"...T-that's not the point!"_

 _Marie had a good chuckle at his little slip-up. She faintly wondered what else was under that barnacle-skin of his._

 _"Sure it isn't. Our duo having more cash, fans, and fame isn't the point either."_

 _"Shut up!"_

 _"You're not really good at this gloating stuff, aren't you?"_

 _"I said shut u-!"_

 _"Tai, shut up."_

 _The Splatling walked up to "Tai" as he shut his mouth to deny any more insults into Marie's face._

 _"Marie, right?"_

 _Uughhh. What's up with today and people looking through her disguise?_

 _"Yes. And I've got to say, that's a really nice ass you've got there."_

 _"I know. He cost me about a million dollars to own him and now I'm in debt."_

 _Said ass was trying to figure out if he really meant him, or that his sibling's butt was actually defined as a male._

 _Tai reasoned that it was the latter._

 _"And we own him, so good luck trying to find a better ass than Kou's!"_

 _Both Marie and Kou stared at Tai in disbelief for a moment, then proceeded to burst out laughing in tears._

 _"..."_

 _Both Kou and Marie couldn't decide whether to laugh harder at the fact that Tai didn't realize the gravity of the situation he was in, or that he was really that oblivious to Kou's remark about him._

 _"What's so inkin' funny! HEY!"_

 _Just then, Callie walked around the corner and saw the three of them making a scene. Two of which she recognized immediately._

 _"Hey Cuz'! I see you're hanging out with the winners last round."_

 _At this point, Tai turns back to being cocky and decided to boast again, while Kou looks away shyly, a hint of red brushing his cheeks._

 _"Well, yeah! Who wouldn't give praise to the winners of an intense battle he had right now? It's not every day you see a couple of Octopuses beat the Squid out of two of the best players here in Inkopolis."_

 _Callie brushes off the boastfulness of Tai and decides to give a bit of sass to lighten the mood._

 _"Hmm. Actually, I thought that Marie over here was just checking your head out to see if you got any injuries from the many times I splatted you with my roller."_

 _It hits Tai like a tentacle slap._

 _"Oh, yeah... Didn't I splat you like 11 times that round? Guess I should have been more watchful of your teammates inking our turf. Oh well. Good job, by the way, you two. Had us running for our money that battle."_

 _Kou replies with a sheepish "T-t-thanks..." while Tai is steaming like a Kettle from Octo Valley._

 _If it was broken._

 _He yells out in frustration and decides to stomp away from the group; his ego's had enough comebacks today._

 _Kou watches his brother walk away, and waits until he's out of ear-shot. Then, he quickly asks for Callie to sign one of his tentacles._

 _Callie happily agrees and adds something extra for him to find as a reward for beating them in a Turf War._

 _Callie and Marie watched as the two Octoling Brothers walk off; presumably their own living spaces._

 _With a look of longing, Marie watches Tai very closely; trying to make sense of his character._

 _She's never met someone like him before. She lets her mind wander around the slim chance that there was something underneath all that trash. Something that value could be worth the struggle. Was there even an underneath?_

 _Maybe she could pry into him a bit more the next time they meet..._

 _After all, she will be asking for a re-match._

 _..._

 _But for now_ _... she needs to get better at her aim._

* * *

 _ **Well, there you have it. Some birds experienced something that's going to change everything for everyone that's part of the on-going war against old enemies. And what better way to start that life-changing event than mashing two salty cephalopods in a little skirmish?**_

 _ **To those that expected another chapter around some time last month, guess what? I didn't die. Don't worry if there's not a new chapter in three weeks; I'm probably just that lazy or worried about the reactions to this story. Add the fact that I'm going completely solo and you get badly-written chapters posted who knows when.**_ ** _(I also have a life. That's a surprise.)_**

 ** _Anyways... yeah. Ch.3 is coming up and it'll finally make sense of Kou and Barney. But mostly Kou. Barney's just there to be there._** _ **As for I'll try to take heed of as many reviews I get, but don't expect me to be perfect and or fulfill them. That'll probably depend on what you guys say for your reviews. The love and support are appreciated deeply, so thanks for actually believing in me. Hope to write for you guys soon.**_


	3. Chapter 3: Half of the Agents, assemble!

_***Obtains Battlefield 1 shortly after creating the second chapter of this story***_

 _ ***Finishes playing Battlefield 1***_

 _ ***Sees this Fanfic which has been neglected for over 6 months***_

 _ ***Notices it's almost the end of summertime***_ _ **"Man, I really should get back to this..."**_

 _ ***Gets roped into a real "gem" of anime shows and reads fanfics of said show without actually watching it***_

 ** _*Summertime ends and schooling starts*_**

 ** _*Tears in eyes* "...It can wait."_**

 _ **In all seriousness, if anyone was annoyed with the unofficial hiatus of mine and/or thought this story was dead, I'm sorry about that. Just had to get some bearings down in life. Nothing serious, just life in general. That, and I have no idea where this story is going to go. I had a plan, but that consisted of adding more concepts that heavily rely on Splatoon's lore. Seeing that I only own Splatoon 1... yeah, I'm not searching through Reddit's forums for conspiracies and theories. For now, though, I will be planning on developing whatever people call two characters interacting with each other.**_ _ **And ultimately leading that up into something out of a cheesy drama straight out of your mother's movie list on Netflix. But before that, have some Agent 4! (Warning: Names will probably not make sense, so forgive me for trying to be creative.)**_

 _ **With the intro aside, if you haven't already check out Teevz and her art on social media, you should do it. Don't expect Octo Bros. though; they've died out like 2 years ago and since then been replaced with a bunch of stuff, including a relatively cute Australian. Said Australian is an anthropomorphic kangaroo, so whether that's good content or bad is up to you guys. (It's the former for me, so does that mean I'm a furry?)**_

 _ **Anyways, let's start up this train-wreck of a Fanfic. If I don't derail the story in the next few chapters, then that must mean I'm doing something right.**_

* * *

 _Pain._

 _Oh god, there's so much pain._

 _I haven't felt this much pain since-_

 _Since..._

 _...N-nevermind that, no time for bad memories Tai._ _Pāru wouldn't want you to remember them anyways..._

...

It was morning for the residents in one of the many apartment complexes scattered throughout the city surrounding Inkopolis Square. Off the Hook's tracks could be heard coming from the city's hottest block, just a few minutes walk away from this certain building. As the morning sun's rays of deadly sunlight crept up to the unsuspecting inhabitants of the building and made their ways through anyone's un-curtained windows, the building slowly rose to life; squids, jellies, and sea creatures of many species opening their eyes and kissing the breath of a new morning.

It was a kiss that Shi Ruof hated.

Ironically, she would possibly be the only one that could be able to give a kiss back to morning if it was a sentient being. Did she even brush her beak?

Eww.

Anyways, the 4th Agent of the New Squidbeak Splatoon woke up with sunlight on her eyes, her non-existing bones aching, and her favorite track of the ten-out-of-ten-tackle-n'-bait duo, Off the Hook, playing at full volume from her current destination for today. Her tan skin illuminated by the sunlight that assaulted her soft, yellow eyes as they immediately hardened into a glare at the aspect of waking up today. Her bed, soft and comforting, made all her moves slow and dull as the alluring piece of furniture promised the continued bliss of rest and relaxation. All she had to do was close her eyes and think happy thoughts once more, and sleep would come again...

But if she fell asleep, how could she listen to her favorite song?

"Man, I love that track." she yawned.

Shi reluctantly got up and went with the flow to the ebbs of the song that could be heard throughout the complex building. Her glare now turning into an expression of tiredness mixed with happiness as the song rounded to its' infamous beat drop. Most Inklings residing in the building which was called the Krabby Kove (despite the fact that the whole mood of the structure was rarely ever Crabby) woke up this way, and with happier moods than ones that didn't have the fortune to stay so close to Inkopolis Square as to use their plaza music as a free alarm clock. A very loud, ineffective alarm clock that still led to Inklings oversleeping 'till noon, but a free one nonetheless. After walking over to take a shower, Shi noticed that she would have to go to Mako Mart tomorrow to get more toiletries lest she forgets like last time.

Her expression turned into that of disgust as she remembered an unforgiving memory that still haunted her in her dreams.

Splatting Octos out in the valley? A piece of cake. Taking on a huge Rubik's cube with three faces? A little less than a piece of cake, but not as hard as she'd thought it would be.

Seeing her non-biological brother's 11th tentacle because they had run out of shampoo in their bathroom?

Now that's something not even trained agents can deal with. To be fair, it was an accident. How it physically happened though is up for anyone's guess. Shaking the memory and the following image of her brother's second ink-shooter, she finished her shower and climbed out of the bathtub to dry herself off.

...

Speaking of her brother...

Where was he?

She had been informed by Marie that her brother, San Eerht, had gone with Cap'n Cuttlefish on some missions regarding Octo Valley. Back then, it didn't mean anything to her since he always came back by the end of the week, but this week had been different. Not only did he leave a note that made her worry for her brother's safety, with all the " _Things have changed, have to go away for a bit longer_ " bull-squid, but San hasn't come back to the apartment he and Shi shared at least 2 weeks since she had last seen him. Whether San was in trouble or not worried her, but Marie had assured her that they'd come back in one piece.

They always did.

That, or they lugged the portable re-spawn point to wherever they got splatted. God, how she hated being the one to revive her brother whenever he got unexpectedly splatted on one of his missions. Granted, he had done the same whenever she got splatted, but unlike her brother, she could handle whatever Octavio threw at her. Compare what she faced to whatever Agent 3 faced in Octo Valley and you could very well say that he had his work cut out for him.

Sometimes she liked to think what her brother would be like, getting back the Zapfish from the Octarians in Octo Canyon rather than the Valley.

Maybe then he wouldn't have gotten a long-distance relationship with the first Octoling he laid eyes on.

Now that Shi put on her clothes and adjusted her tentacles to her liking, she went into the kitchen to think about what her plan for today would be. Other than going to Mako Mart when it wasn't hosting Turf Wars, she would get some done herself later today since she needed the funds for the apartment's upcoming monthly rent. She was a pretty good Roller-main after all, so being able to afford an apartment as nice and cozy as this one was easy via her winnings from multiple Turf Wars and the occasional Ranked Battle. After earning enough coins to pay off the apartment's rent and next week's meals, she'd stop by Octo Canyon to visit Marie and see if she had any news on her brother. Or his girlfriend; though she preferred the former for many reasons.

 _ ***RING***_

...Or maybe she could visit Marie now since she's calling her over.

And here she thought it was her break-week from doing missions for Marie. Sure, she was an agent of a skilled group specialized in combating Octarian forces, but even then both sides needed rest. " _Oh well,_ " she thought with a frown as she picked up her Squid-phone 7. Whenever Marie called, it had to be something important. Whether they were vital missions that gave the New Squidbeak Splatoon an edge over the Octarian forces down in the canyon or just a new briefing on enemies she has yet to face. Whatever it was, it had to be important.

But was it important enough to walk down to Inkopolis Square immediately? It had been only 9:00 in the morning since Shi got up, and already Marie was pulling her leg to something acute to either a history lecture or spec-ops mission from those FPS games she and her brother played on the weekends.

"Man, what does Marie want now..." Shi sighed. God, she hoped the problem wasn't either vital to the New Squidbeak Splatoon's progression on their current goals that consisted of rescuing the Zapfish and beating Octavio's takoyaki balls ( _again)_ or a waste of her break. Don't get her wrong, she didn't have any ill-will towards the Squid Sister, her own role as an Agent, or what she was facing up against via said role; she was just concerned about making the most of her days off from continuously working as an Agent.

If only she could figure out what Marie wanted without dragging herself down to the Canyon to hear about what Maie had to say.

...

...

...

Suddenly, Shi got a very bright idea.

...

"Hello?"

Marie held back a shocked gasp. " _Agent 4 picked up her phone?!_ " She wasn't sure if she dialed a wrong number or an Octarian had gone and figured out how to tap smartphones.

She never picked up her phone at all whenever Marie called contacted her and instead came down to see what the occasion was. In fact, it had been the last time she'd ever heard her voice over a voice-line was when they were testing out their contact! Then again, Marie never had to contact her during one of her break weeks... was she busy doing something right now? Was this a friend?

"...A-Agent 4? Is that you?"

Marie was answered with a subtle 'Yeah' from her own squidPhone as she now tried to piece together current events that had transpired in the last 2 hours. An old face shows up to be with the enemy, and now this? What's next?

"Are you sure? You never answered your squidPhone whenever I called you until now!" Marie practically screamed into the phone. "What's the deal with that?"

On the other side of the current call, Shi physically tensed when Marie called her out on being lazy towards her agent duties. Hesitantly, she spoke back. "T-that's being worked on..."

"Oh yeah?" Marie practically sassed at the young agent. "And why wasn't this being worked on the last 21 calls, hmm~?"

"You were calling me about how I don't answer my phone or..?" Shi deadpanned.

With a sigh, Marie spoke back. "We'll get back to this, 4. Watch yourself."

"Fine, fine. So, what's this all really about?" asked Shi. "If it's about training then I already told you. I'm good."

Marie had to resist the urge to shake her head. "No, this isn't about training. You're good... for now, at least."

"Hey!"

"It's true, Agent 4. Sooner or later you'll have to brush up your skills, and not just on the Hero Shot. Before you know it, you'll be facing even bigger tentacles before facing the biggest one of them all." Marie said with a tone that of a worried mentor. 'She's great at doing her job, but she needs to become better before she faces off Octavio. Who knows what he has in store now...' Marie silently thought to herself.

"So... I'm training to handle tentacles now, huh? What ways should I practice in dealing with them first~" Shi dragged out as sultry as she could.

"That's beside the point." Marie quickly replied. She took a few seconds to realize the innuendo behind the statement, and a bit of ink rushed to her cheeks. "4! What's wrong with you! I thought your brother was the only one interested in our enemy!" Marie yelled as Shi snickered behind her squidPhone.

"You're right. But between the 2 of us, I'm the one who's more forward. Besides, have you seen how my bro acts around that Octo chick? Too sweet for my taste. Hasn't even asked if they wanted to mate for-"

Agent 4 was cut off with a heavily-blushing Marie as she yelled into the line. "THAT'S NOT THE POINT AS OF NOW, 4."

"Then what's the dang point!?" Shi yelled back into her squidPhone. Realizing her unprofessional behavior to a celebrity figure, she quickly responded with a, "...If I may ask?"

With that being said, Shi got her bearings down as she was met with "...".

Silence.

'Uh oh. Pissed off Marie... Again.' The agent solemnly noted to herself.

"Marie? Hey, are you still-"

"I got an Octoling locked up," Marie said.

Agent 4's breath hitched and for a moment she couldn't speak.

"I'll be there in a few minutes," Shi said as she closed the call and started gearing up in her hero suit.

Things just got serious down in the valley if the enemy was on the move.

Noting this fact, she grabbed her Hero Shot, just in case.

...

"Agent 4." Marie regarded the agent as she popped out of the manhole that led to Octo Canyon from Inkopolis Square. The agent nodded back, her Hero Shot gripped firmly between her hands with a finger on the trigger. Marie could remember a time when she had the same mindset back in her old agent days.

"So... where is the enemy?" Agent 4 asked Marie in a voice that resembled a vicious predator.

"Whoa, whoa. Slow down there, agent. The last thing we want is another unnecessary mess to clean up." Marie said as she calmed down the twitchy agent. She knew how 4 could be around Octarians; Agent 3 having one as a love interest didn't help to simplify matters in that department either. As precise and skilled as she was out in the splatter-field, she was equally brutal and merciless to anything that was considered 'Octarian'.

Marie casually wondered if 3 had anything to do with 4's attitude towards the other species. Influence? Nah, Agent 3's never been that hostile towards any Octarians. Perhaps something happened between her and 3's girlfriend-

"Yeah, yeah, I won't splat the little bugger. _Though they totally deserve to be though..._ " Agent 4 said to Marie as she trailed off her few last words. Marie decided that it wasn't her business as of now, and if Agent 3 and Gramps came back, maybe she'll look into it a bit more. "You sure?" She asked the agent; seeing as 4 still had a finger on the Hero Shot's trigger.

Agent 4 sighed as removed her trigger-finger off of the gun and slung it on her shoulder. "Yes, Marie..."

"Good. He's currently knocked out and tied up to one of the spare chairs in the Cuttlefish Cabin." Marie said as they both walked over to it. "I put him inside and checked to see if he had any trackers or radios on him. The idiot didn't have either..."

"Probably around here somewhere. Octarian scouts don't just drop their equipment in the middle of nowhere." Agent 4 said as she walked with the squid idol towards the wooden cabin that was the home of operations for the New Squidbeak Splatoon in Octo Canyon. Marie shook her head at the suggestion.

"That's where you're wrong, 4. You see... this isn't one of your normal Octarian scouts." Marie began as the two squids peered into the cabin's interiors.

Agent 4 gasped immediately.

...

Tai woke up to the sounds of duct tape.

' _Duct tape?_ ' he wondered to himself as he tried to breath in through his mouth.

He then knew why he heard duct tape.

Regaining his composure after failing to breathe for a second, he cracked open his eyes to find an Inkling wearing an all-too-familiar kimono facing away from him.

The same kimono that he saw when he battled _her_ a while back.

A flash of pain came to him in the form of remembering times that seemed decades ago. Tai scrunched up his face as he tried to block out the painful images of him and _her_ before he had to go away. He tried closing his eyes again in a futile attempt to shut his mind up about what could have been...

Before having one hell of a bitchslap delivered to him, courtesy of Agent 4.

"WHY?!" Shi yelled at the former rockstar as his eyes widened to dinnerplates after enduring the stinging sensation of a female's hand smashing into his right cheek.

"I swear I wasn't doing any Wasabi superior! It was Kou that was dealing it out! I have proof!" Tai yelled out, clearly shaken out of all his senses as he whipped his head back and forth in an attempt to dodge anymore slaps aimed at his face.

Unfortunately for him, Shi has an impeccable aim.

A few more slaps and the 4th Agent of the Squidbeak Splatoon almost achieved her first Octarian unarmed kill before Tai heard _her_ speak up. "That's enough, Shi." Agent 4 paused her assault on Tai's (ugly) face and turned to look at _her_ before walking up to the older inkling. Tai, who had the ever-loving crap beaten out of him by the feisty inkling, couldn't hear the next words exchanged between the two females.

To him, it looked like his life depended on it.

To Marie and Shi, it was just a discussion on why Tai was in this mess in the first place.

"Why is Tai from the Octo Bros. siding with the enemy forces!?" Shi whisper-yelled at Marie, both inklings showing their backs to the aforementioned Octoling. Said Octoling was looking at their backs with a grumpy expression. You couldn't blame him though; no one likes having their face beaten up by someone else.

"Remember how his band retired a few weeks after Off the Hook became the new inkopolis news show hosts?" Marie asked Shi as she pondered for a bit.

"Yeah, but it was less like they got the job and more like they replaced you and Callie." Agent 4 received a slap to the back of her tentacles with her response.

"It's not like that at all. Callie and I quit the job because of both of us wanting to delve deeper into solo careers." Marie snapped back with a hint of venom in her voice.

"Sure... nothing about Callie having too much salt in her eyes." Shi deadpanned back. Marie's face began to puff up before she let out a breath and shook her head solemnly.

"Anyways," Marie started, "I'm guessing you know about that major deportation of nearly 88% of the Octarian population living in Inkopolis that happened around a year ago." Shi nodded her head towards this. "Yes, I know. But the few Octarians that stayed were given special permission due to them being big figures in Inkling society. That's why Marina's still here and not fighting against us in this damned Canyon."

Marie couldn't help but agree with the younger Inkling's point. "Mhmm. Thank Pearl for that. She was the one who got Marina those citizen papers done in time. If only the rest of the populace were as lucky as her..."

Agent 4 couldn't help but ponder when Marie trailed off her sentence. "I thought you said that most of the Octarian populace got citizen papers for both Inkopolis and the Valley?" Marie looked at Shi and shook her head. "They did, and they were official too. Rules, regulations, everything. And before you ask, yes. The Octo Bros. applied for dual citizenship as well." Shi quickly shut her mouth seeing that her next question was just answered.

Marie continued, "Which leads me back to the Octo Bros. retiring. You see, they're actually..."

Before Marie could finish her sentence, she noticed a slight rustling coming from behind both of their backs. Taking a quick glance over her shoulder, Marie stifled a laugh and saw Tai, bent in an uncomfortable-looking position trying to cut the duct tape that held him to the chair he was currently taped to. Seeing as how he was able to cut past more than half the tape during the relatively small time Marie and Shi were talking with each other, Marie feared that the Octoling was seconds away from escaping.

Shi noticed this and did something Marie was expecting her to do.

"HEY!" The agent yelled towards the rockstar as she bounded towards him in a single leap, her HeroShot found its' barrel inches away from Tai's face.

Tai stared back at Shi; his expression telling to both her and Marie that he was kinda ticked off about being slapped earlier. He started to yell profane words at both of the Inklings before taking a look at the weapon pointed at his forehead. In order to avoid getting shot by the agent, he held back his words for the time being and chose to express his hate for the both of them with an angry-looking face.

Shi was unamused with Tai's attempt.

Marie, confirming that their 'visitor' wouldn't be leaving anytime soon, she walked up towards the two and looked at the enemy that she had an agent currently held at gunpoint.

He looked back at her, face unchanging.

" _So... this is how we meet each other after all these months..._ " Marie solemnly noted to herself.

" _He looks... different._ "

"Agent 4?"

Marie caught the attention of both Shi and Tai, with only Shi responding to her. "Yes, Marie?"

"I think its time we put him out of his misery."

Tai's eyes widened in fear after those words left her mouth.

"With pleasure," Shi responded.

 _ ***SPLAT***_

 _ ***SPLAT***_

 ** _*SPLOOSH*_**

In the Cuttlefish Cabin, there stood a chair with duct tape wraps covered in yellow ink.

Mari sighed to herself. _"These next days will be a bit more interesting..._ "

She almost noticed the faded photo of her and Tai sticking out of the yellow ink of where Tai used to be.

* * *

 _ **Tai is dead end of story kids go home and don't come back until I make the next chapter**_

 _ **With that aside,**_ _ **I do plan to include Agent 8 and the Octo Expansion into this story, hopefully after the main plot with Tai and Marie gets done with. Bear in mind I'm doing this solo without any editorials besides myself (and Grammarly), so expect a rushed plot that really has comedy as its redeeming quality with sprinkles of blushing cephalopods and shit-eating grins, courtesy of Agent 3 and Tai respectively. And before you ask, no, I'm not looking for editors as that'll be too much of a hassle for me regarding communications and work ethic. Mines, to be specific.**_

 _ **All of that and more will hopefully be clarified in the future... after I think of more things to add to the story. Maybe shine some light on the subject of Kou? Guess we'll both see once I type up the next few chapters.**_ _ **With that said, hope you guys didn't feel cheated out of your time, and until then, away I type into the sunset...**_


End file.
